Home Office

Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether pre-departure accommodation at Tinsley House will be equipped for families with children and will provide facilities for children to a similar level as those at Cedars family accommodation centre; and when Tinsley House will be ready for use.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Tinsley House is currently under going refurbishment. This includes the facilities identified for the new pre-departure accommodation. The apartment based facilities will be similar to those provided at Cedars family accommodation centre.These facilities will include a children’s play area in the family reception area; a domestic kitchen to allow families to cook for themselves; and improvements to the outside courtyard and the separate entrance to the proposed pre departure accommodation.The important assistance to families preparing to return to their home country, provided at Cedars, will remain in place at the new pre-departure accommodation. Cedars will remain open to enable a managed transition to the new location to take place, and Barnardo’s will continue to provide welfare support at Cedars. The timetable for the opening of pre-departure accommodation at Tinsley House is still being finalised.

Undocumented Migrants

Lord Temple-Morris: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many arrests of illegal immigrants there were in each of the last five years; and how many of those arrested in each year were (1) deported from the UK, (2) remained in custody, and (3) released within the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: It is not possible to provide information in the format requested, because data on arrests for illegal immigration cannot be separated from arrests for other immigration offences.

Police: Statistics

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to amending the Annual Data Requirement to replace the 16+1 ethnicity code based on the 2001 census with the 2011 census ethnicity category 18+1, to include Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The ethnicity categories used for data collections are assessed as part of the Home Office’s process of agreeing the Annual Data Requirement (ADR). This is the list of mandatory data collections required from the police.This process includes consultation with a range of stakeholders on the requirements for each data collection, together with consideration of the burdens involved in the collection (e.g. IT costs of implementation for police forces), and the likely quality of the data.

Slavery

Lord Smith of Hindhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police forces in England and Wales have dedicated slavery and trafficking units.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: This information is not held centrally by the Home Office.Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, in line with the local priorities set by their Police and Crime Commissioner.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sudan: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Sudan about the arrest and continuing detention of Reverend Hasan Kodi Taour, Reverend Kuwa Shamal Kori, Abdelmonim Abdelmawla and Petr Jasek.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 11 May (HL8212), what steps they are taking to ensure that the human rights of Christian pastors in Sudan are protected, in the light of the ongoing detention of Reverend Hasan Kodi Taour.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are aware that the four men in question remain in detention. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum were present in court to observe the most recent hearing on 26 September, and are in close contact with the lawyers representing the defendants. We regularly raise our concerns over this case with the government of Sudan, most recently during the visit of the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan to Khartoum in September. We will continue to monitor this case closely.More widely, freedom of religion or belief remains a consistent theme in our ongoing human rights dialogue with the government of Sudan. We consistently call on them to ensure all legislation is consistent with the commitment to their citizens in the Interim Constitution of 2005, within which religious freedom is enshrined.

Darfur: Chemical Weapons

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Amnesty International report on the use of chemical weapons in Darfur; whether they intend to ask the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to open an investigation; and what representations they have made, or plan to make, to the Sudanese Ambassador to London in the light of that report.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are concerned by the allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Sudan and we are aware that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is looking into these. The use of chemical weapons under any circumstances is contrary to international law and we wholly condemned it. We were also concerned to read the other allegations made in the Amnesty International report, which highlight the need for access to conflict-affected areas. We see ensuring access for the UN/AU Peacekeeping Mission throughout Darfur as the most important next step and have raised this in the context of the report with the Sudanese in London, Khartoum and New York.

Sudan: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, when considering trade, diplomatic, political and other bilateral links with the Republic of Sudan, what weight they attach to (1) the Amnesty International report on the use of chemical weapons in Darfur; (2) the Médecins Sans Frontières 2000 report Living Under Aerial Bombardment; (3) the Human Rights Watch 2015 report concerning the use of cluster bombs; (4) reports in 2016 of aerial bombardment in Blue Nile and South Kordofan; and (5) the outstanding warrants for the arrest of Sudanese leaders on genocide charges.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our primary focus, in both our political engagement and the work of the Department for International Development, is to support the peaceful development of the country allowing ordinary Sudanese people to have a voice in their future. The first step in this process would be a cessation of hostilities and unrestricted humanitarian access to all areas of the country, including Darfur and the Two Areas of Blue Nile and South Kordofan. We consider all the information at our disposal, including the reports referred to, when assessing the situation on the ground and regularly raise our concerns about violations of human rights and international humanitarian law directly with the government of Sudan, and in international fora where appropriate. We remain a firm supporter of the International Criminal Court and encourage all States to act on its indictments.

Zaina Erhaim

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made enquiries of, or representations to, the government of Syria in relation to its claim that the passport of Zaina Erhaim produced at Heathrow on her arrival in the UK had been stolen.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have made no enquiries of, or representations to, the Syrian regime on this matter. The UK Government has no contact with the Asad regime due to the atrocities it has committed against the Syrian people.

St Helena: Politics and Government

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government by whom the Governor of St Helena is appointed; to whom she is responsible; and to whom she reports on issues concerning the airport.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​The Governor is Her Majesty's representative on St Helena and is responsible for administering the St Helena Government. The Governor is appointed on the advice of, and reports on all matters to, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, acting on behalf of Her Majesty, in order to represent the interests of the people of St Helena.

St Helena: Politics and Government

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the composition of the government of St Helena, and by whom each member of that government is appointed or elected.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The St Helena Government comprises of:A Governor appointed by the Foreign Secretary of behalf of the Queen.An Executive Council of twelve elected members and three members of St Helena Government who are appointed by the Governor.A Legislative Council of five elected members and three senior members of the St Helena Government who are appointed by the Governor.

St Helena: Public Expenditure

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the (1) annual revenue, and (2) annual capital expenditure, of the government of St Helena is provided by them.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: For Financial Year 2016/17 the Government has agreed to provide funding to St Helena Government which makes up 62% of their recurrent budget and 57% of their capital programme.

Italy: British Nationals Abroad

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 19 September (HL1756), how many British nationals they estimate are long-term residents in Italy; how many UK consular offices there are in Italy; when those consular offices ceased renewing passports for British nationals; how many renewals there were in the last year during which this service was provided; and how many emergency travel documents the Rome or Milan offices have issued in the past year.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In 2015 the UN, in their 'Trends in International Migrant Stock: Migrants by Destination and Origin' report, estimated that 64,986 British people were living in Italy.As of October 2016 we have two permanent Consular Offices in Rome and Milan. These offices are supported by a network of five Honorary Consuls operating in Venice, Genoa, Catania (Sicily), Cagliari and Naples.The processing of passport renewal applications from Italy was transferred to the Regional Passport Processing Centre in Paris in 2009. On 1 April 2011 an accord was signed between FCO and the Home Office to transfer responsibility for overseas passports to the Identity and Passport Service, now known as Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO). The transition of application processing from the Regional Passport Processing Centre in Paris to HMPO began in June 2013. This included all applications made from Italy. This process concluded in March 2014. As part of this process, all records were transferred to HMPO, and the FCO does not hold records of the numbers of passports issued overseas.In 2015 we issued 1,261 emergency travel documents from our Consular offices in Italy. 83 of those emergency travel documents were issued because of expired passports.

Saudi Arabia: Migrant Workers

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about unpaid wages for migrant workers, and about the return of passports being made conditional on foregoing arrears of wages.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​We are aware of reports of some third country migrant workers having employment issues, including not receiving payments. This is a matter for the parties involved in each situation to find a solution.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

World Heritage Sites

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to enact primary legislation ensuring that UK World Heritage Sites receive statutory protection from inappropriate planning consents.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: Where appropriate UK World Heritage sites are afforded statutory protection through designation of specific assets through existing legislation. Other aspects of World Heritage Sites are key material considerations in the determination of planning applications.

Ministry of Defence

Patrol Craft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the planned service life of the Offshore Patrol Vessels Tyne, Severn and Mersey when they were purchased for the Royal Navy in September 2012.

Earl Howe: When HMS TYNE, HMS SEVERN and HMS MERSEY were purchased in September 2012 they had a remaining service life of 11 years.

Patrol Craft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 12 September (HL1533), whether work has commenced on the third Offshore Patrol Vessel contracted for in August 2014; and if not, why not.

Earl Howe: Construction of the third Offshore Patrol Vessel, HMS TRENT, began in October 2015.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when RFA Tidespring will reach the UK and become fully operational; and what are the planned operational dates for the delivery of her three sister ships.

Earl Howe: The first of the Tide Class of Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Tankers, RFA TIDESPRING, is due to arrive in the UK for Customisation and Capability Assessment Trials in 2017 before entering service.On current plans, we expect all four MARS Tankers to have entered service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by the end of 2018.